How Much Electricity Does a Gaming PC Use?

A gaming PC draws about 500 watts, or 0.50 kWh per hour. Enter your hours and electricity rate below for the exact cost per day, month and year.

–kWh per day
–
kWh / month
–
Cost / day
–
Cost / month
–
Cost / year

Wattage is pre-filled with a typical value for a gaming PC; change any field for your own device, usage and rate. Cost uses your rate × kWh — a US-average placeholder rate of $0.17/kWh is shown; enter your own from your bill for an accurate figure.

A gaming PC in watts and kWh

A gaming PC draws about 500 watts while running. Energy is billed in kilowatt-hours (kWh), and one kWh is 1000 watts for one hour — so a gaming PC uses 500 ÷ 1000 = 0.50 kWh for every hour it is on. Multiply that by the hours you use it and by your rate per kWh to get the cost. The calculator above does it live; change the wattage if your model differs. Kept up every day of the year at 4 hours a day, that is about 730 kWh — roughly $124.10 at the $0.17/kWh placeholder rate used here.

Under full gaming load; at idle or desktop use it draws far less.

Wattage moves with size, age and model, so treat 500 W as a mid-range starting point rather than a fixed number — the rating plate on your own appliance, or its ENERGY STAR listing, gives the figure to type in. The rate matters just as much: the US Energy Information Administration publishes current average residential prices by state, and the figure on your own bill is better still. This LK Forge calculator recomputes every result as you type.

How to cut what it costs

Two levers change the bill: hours of use and your rate per kWh. Running high-wattage devices less, or shifting them to off-peak hours on a time-of-use plan, has the biggest effect. For a whole-home estimate or to compare devices, use the full electricity bill & appliance calculator.

Other appliances

Frequently Asked Questions

How much electricity does a gaming PC use?
A gaming PC uses about 500 watts, or 0.50 kWh for every hour it runs. At 4 hours a day that is about 2.00 kWh per day; multiply by your rate per kWh for the cost. Over a 30-day month of four hours of play a day that is about 60 kWh. The 500 W figure is an under-load number driven mostly by the GPU, so desktop work on the same machine draws far less and idle draws less again.
How much does it cost to run a gaming PC?
The cost of running a gaming PC is the kWh it uses × your rate per kWh. At a US-average $0.17/kWh and 4 hours a day, a gaming PC costs about $0.34 a day and $10.20 a month. Enter your own rate above for an exact figure.
How is this calculated?
Electricity use for a gaming PC is calculated from watts: energy in kWh equals watts divided by 1000, multiplied by the hours of use. Cost is that kWh figure multiplied by your electricity rate. Your rate per kWh is on your utility bill.
How much does a gaming PC cost to run per year?
Running a gaming PC for 4 hours a day, every day, uses about 730 kWh a year. At the US-average placeholder rate of $0.17/kWh that is roughly $124.10 a year. Change the hours or the rate above and the yearly figure updates with them.